Samorost

While it would be somewhat of a mistake to label the lushly-drawn web-browser game Samorost as aesthetically minimalist, it represents what is potentially the most minimalist interface and interaction system possible. The game is played entirely with the mouse and a single mouse button - to interact with an object, move your character, or perform an action of any sort, you just click once on it. Everything that happens, from piloting a spaceship to using a key-shaped hookah to unlock a ski lift control, happens with just a single click from the player. This creates an interesting relationship of interactivity between the player and the events occurring in the game - while the specific order of clicking and puzzle-solving necessary to complete Samorost clearly demarcate it as a game, the player, much like the tiny main character who is often seemingly lost and swept along by the events that occur, is never exactly sure what their disconnected clicks will set in motion.


Artist: Jakub Dvorsky
Medium: Internet browser game (http://amanita-design.net/samorost-1/)
Year: 2003

Artist Statement:
"I do not want any words. There will be some communication, but only with symbols, pictures and animations."

Bibliography:
http://coldhardflash.com/2005/02/brno-inferno.html
http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,593
http://www.splatterlink.com/interviews/samorost.htm
http://www.artificial.dk/articles/amanita.htm